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Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Robin Uthappa felt that Virat Kohli looked extremely confident during his match-winning century against South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi. The cricketer-turned-analyst pointed out that the senior batter had ample time to play his shots, which was the highlight of his innings. He feels that Kohli came out with equal preparation in the past, but looked fatigued, trying to force things, which didn’t work well for him.
The statement came after Kohli slammed his 52nd ODI ton, the most in a format after Sachin Tendulkar (51 centuries in Tests). The right-handed batter scored 135 runs off 120 balls, hitting seven sixes and 11 boundaries. His efforts with the bat helped the KL Rahul-led team take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said:
“He looked prepared in the sense that. It wasn’t like the lack of preparation in the past, but I think his eyes and himself, he just looked fatigued in the past when you felt when he was trying, trying, and trying, and it was the fatigue that was present in his eyes. It almost felt like where there was... it felt like there was something… because there was a period of time when he was trying to score runs and it just wasn’t happening. And, I think that fatigue of just trying and trying to make something work for him began, showing up in his eyes.”
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“And, you see, yesterday was real quiet confidence about his own game. You could see there was preparation. You see that he was batting for a while, just the way he tracked the ball. There were certain things that just the way he approached his batting with that… just made you feel so happy to see him in the kind of form that he was in. The amount of time he had to play each ball is what stood out for me. That was the most important part,” he added.
Ahead of the series opener against South Africa in Ranchi, Kohli had slammed an unbeaten 74 off 81 balls against Australia Down Under.
“That was actually a good sign” – Robin Uthappa on Virat Kohli's initial challenge before his century
Robin Uthappa felt that Virat Kohli looked nervous for the first 10 balls before unleashing himself. The 40-year-old stressed that the batting maestro once again proved that he doesn’t take things for granted. He said in the same video:
“I think more than that what for me stood out when he came out to bat, you saw that there were nerves and that was actually a good sign for me because you knew that because sometimes when you’ve done so much and you’ve played so long and you’ve tried and then you can get to a place where after you’ve scored 52 hundreds in the version of the game, you go somewhere and then you feel less motivated, right? Or you feel like you are taking things for granted for some time.”
“But you knew that was not going to be the case coming here, but there were nerves, and I like nerves when you start an innings. It just shows that you truly care and you really want to perform, and that for me was special, I thought. I think just the way he approached, the reverence with which he approached his batting in those first 10 balls was for me was really cool,” he added.
After winning the Player of the Match award, Kohli said that he tries to give more than 100 percent whenever he plays. He said in the post-match presentation (via ESPNcricinfo):
“I've said it before, if I'm arriving somewhere, I'll arrive at 120%.
“[I came early] because I wanted to get hold of the conditions a little bit, bat a couple of sessions in the day and one in the evening, so my prep work was done. I took a day off before the game because I'm 37, I also need to look after the recovery. I visualise the game a lot in my mind, and as long as when I think about the game, if I see myself being as intense, as sharp, taking the fielders and bowlers on, then I know I'm in a good space and I kind of relax and play out there,” he added.
Kohli will next play against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur on Wednesday, December 3.
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